Since Nagato's mother was still alive, Charlie decided to speak with her right away. He figured if she agreed to move, Nagato wouldn't resist.
Resting his chin on his crossed hands, his face shadowed in the dim light, Charlie looked seriously at Fuso. His sudden serious tone made her tense up, filling her with worry and confusion. 'Had their identities been exposed?'
Breaking the silence, Charlie spoke gently but directly. "Mrs. Fuso… you don't want your son growing up alone in a war-torn country, do you?"
Fuso's shoulders trembled. She slowly shook her head, voice barely audible. "No... I don't."
Charlie gave a reassuring nod. "Then how about… moving on?"
He waited, expecting a nod or a hopeful smile. But instead, Fuso froze.
Her face turned red, then pale. Her lips quivered. Tears welled up again, but this time with a different emotion. She stood, unsteady, and shakily reached for the collar of her shirt.
"W-Wait, Madam, what are you doing?! You've completely misunderstood!" Charlie panicked, frantically pulling out a scroll from his pack. "Not like that!"
He quickly unrolled the parchment and pointed at the official emblem.
"I meant relocating, to the Land of Grass! We're offering emergency immigration for civilians from conflict zones. You'll be granted housing, a basic stipend in ryo, a job placement, and, get this, your kid can go to academy for free!"
His voice grew more energetic, trying to shift gears. "If you fill out the application tonight, we can have you across the border by sunrise. It's all backed by the Kusagakure Reconstruction Program. So, uh... what do you say?"
Fuso's hand froze mid-motion. Her eyes flicked to the scroll. Then she blinked. Finally, she whispered, "…Oh."
The next morning, Konan opened her bright eyes and immediately sensed that something was different. "Brother Charlie, Sister Fuso, what's going on?" she asked, feeling uneasy.
Nagato spoke quietly, "That's my mom," but his soft words went mostly unnoticed.
Fuso gave a small, awkward smile and shook her head without saying much. She gently patted Konan's head and asked, "Are you awake?" Then, looking at both Konan and Nagato, she said, "If you're up, eat breakfast quickly. We're leaving soon."
"Leaving?" Konan echoed, her eyes widening as she noticed the packed bags in the living room. "Mom, are we really going to leave here?"
Fuso nodded and crouched down to smile at Nagato, patting his head gently. "Yes, Nagato. We're going to start a new life somewhere else. A place without war, without danger. You'll be able to make friends, won't have to hide all the time, and you won't go hungry anymore."
Fuso wasn't sure if the Land of Grass was truly as peaceful as Charlie described, but what choice did they have?
They could either stay and risk another shinobi attack or trust Charlie and see for themselves. She didn't think the shinobi was trying to trick them.
Besides, unless their identity as members of the Uzumaki clan was discovered, which would mean no chance of escape, they had to hold onto hope. Staying meant facing hunger and uncertainty; they didn't even know where to find more food.
As for the awkward misunderstanding from the night before, Fuso had already pushed it out of her mind, too embarrassing to dwell on.
Nagato paused for a moment, then seemed to understand and didn't press for details. He simply nodded.
Even though their father had passed away just yesterday, years of constant war and loss had prepared them. They couldn't afford to stay trapped in grief forever. Life had to move forward.
If there was a place without war or hunger, and where Mom was always there, that would be perfect. Nagato held back his sadness, nodded, and smiled. "Wherever you go, Mom, I'll go too! I'll protect you!"
Fuso smiled warmly at his words. "First, eat your breakfast! You need to be strong to leave!" she said. "Thanks to Lord for the food! He's the one who will take us away!"
"Thank you, Lord!" Nagato chimed in.
Fuso just smiled, ruffled Nagato's hair, and shook his head. "Alright, let's eat! After that, we leave!"
After a simple meal, they got ready to set off. But before leaving, they stopped by Nagato's father's grave. Konan picked a flower and placed it there as a silent blessing, earning a quiet "thank you" from Nagato.
Charlie watched them silently, then turned to face the path ahead. With an overly dramatic flair, he raised his hand high, let out a long, theatrical sigh, and grinned.
"All right! let's go!"
Meanwhile, the war seemed to be reaching a critical point. The main Konoha army had pushed deep into the Land of Rain.
Rumor had it the operation was personally led by the three top students of the Third Hokage, the man hailed as the Professor and revered as one of the strongest Hokage in history.
Though Hiruzen himself wasn't present, his students were said to be commanding the assault. One of them, Tsunade, was even rumored to be a descendant of the Sage of Six Paths through the bloodline of the Senju clan. Needless to say, these were incredibly powerful shinobis.
In just one night, the Land of Rain grew eerily quiet. The once busy markets had all shut down. Amegakure shinobi quickly responded to the news, and even the village leader went personally to the Konoha frontline.
Not even Charlie had expected the war to intensify so fast! The Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya and the others had advanced quicker than anyone imagined.
He remembered clearly, the famed battle that earned them the title of "Legendary Sannin" happened during the Second Great Ninja War, when Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru faced Hanzo of the Salamander in Amegakure and survived. Their legend began there.
It was only after that when Jiraiya encountered three war orphans, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato, amid the ruins of the Land of Rain. During his time training them, Nagato's dog was killed by a shinobi's explosive tag, a moment that he still remember.
Everyone had assumed it would take months for the current conflict to escalate to that level. No one expected it to happen this soon.
'Did Kusagakure suddenly join the war?' Charlie wondered, eyes narrowing.
But their Grass Village hadn't deployed a single squad! 'That shameless Mujie must have pulled some stunt again... '
Lost in thought, Charlie suddenly sensed something. His eyes narrowed sharply, and he stopped in his tracks, stepping protectively in front of Konan and the others, frowning as he stared ahead.
Fuso and the others seemed to sense it too. They quickly stopped and fell silent, instinctively moving behind Charlie.
"Charli-" Fuso began, but her voice was cut off by a smooth, almost mocking tone from ahead.
"Well, well... you actually noticed us. Not bad. Most shinobi wouldn't have picked up on our presence so quickly."